Author's note* This portion of the story will take place after Miss Peregrine and the children show up in Florida, but before Jacob leaves on his little "mission". Also this is Miss P and Horace centered because I think they would have an adorable mother/son type relationship.
Englewood, Florida. Present Day.
Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine sighed as she poured herself a cup of morning coffee. She had not stayed in Florida for very long, but it was exhausting. Between attending countless Council meetings and erasing the memories of Jacob's parents, she felt like she could use a holiday from her holiday. The abysmal wardrobe options weren't helping eirher. She had to wear Mrs. Portman's spare clothes, which were obnoxious and skimpy (in Miss Peregrine's opinion). She couldn't believe the state of the modern world. Suddenly, her train of thought was ignored by a voice.
"Good morning Miss P," a voice behind her spoke.
Miss Peregrine turned around to see who it was. It was Horace Somnusson, one of her wards.
"Good morning Mr. Somnusson! I'm terribly sorry, but Mr. Portman has taken the other children out shopping for modern clothes. It will be just the two of us for the day," Miss Peregrine replied.
"What time is it?" Horace asked.
"It is ten thirty in the morning. I did not ask the other children to wake you, because I know that you had a nightmare," she answered.
Horace always woke up Miss Peregrine when he had a nightmare. She would always make him a cup of tea and sing him a lullaby (despite the fact that he was thirteen years old). This is what happened the previous night.
"Thanks, Miss P. I'm glad that I don't have to shop with Jacob. His fashion sense is horrible! Jacob thinks its okay to go out in public dressed like a vagabond!" Horace said.
"Perhaps I will take you to shop for modern clothes. I do not have any Council meetings today, so I have plenty of time to take you. " Miss Peregrine replied.
Horace's eyes widened in shock. Miss Peregrine rarely took the children shopping. She was typically too busy for that. Horace agreed to shop with her, especially because she was the only person whose fashion sense he trusted.
Miss Peregrine drove Horace to the mall after he finished with his breakfast. They stepped into the air-conditioned building to find a plethora of stores. Miss Peregrine took Horace into a store that sold clothes for both of them. Horace went straight to the men's section and began searching through the dressy clothes in order to find something suitable for him to wear. He managed to keep from vomiting as he saw the huge rack of jeans. What was it with the modern era and its fascination with farmer clothes?
Meanwhile, Miss Peregrine was shopping in the women's section to find suitable modern clothes. She found several black shirts (with high, Victorian style necklines, of course) in addition to several black skirts and pants. Some of the clothing times were quite shocking, but Miss Peregrine was glad that she was able to find decent modern clothes.
"Mr. Somnusson, are you ready to leave now?" Miss Peregrine asked Horace after she had finished shopping.
"Yes, Miss Peregrine," he replied.
Miss Peregrine purchased the clothes that they selected. Sadly, the cashier ringing up their purchases seemed to have no concept of boundaries.
"Who died?" the cashier said sarcastically as he rung up their purchases.
"If you must know, it was fashion. And look! You're wearing its corpse!" Horace retorted.
The cashier's face turned red with embarassment. He quickly lowered his head to avoid Horace's gaze and finished the rest of the transaction in silence. Miss Peregrine shot Horace a death glare, but she couldn't help but be proud of him. Miss Peregrine hated seeing rudeness go unpunished. After paying for the purchases, they left the store.
Horace and Miss Peregrine couldn't help being in awe of the mall. There were so many options! The people wandering the mall had everything in the world, and they acted like it was nothing special. Unfortunately, the mall seemed to have too many options. Miss Peregrine noticed a store called Victoria's Secret that had images of scantily clad women on its store front. She let out a scandalised gasp and quickly covered Horace's eyes.
"What are you doing?" a startled Horace asked.
"Some of these stores are not appropriate for children," she responded.
She tried to quickly walk past the store, but she notices something out of the corner of her eye. Was that Miss Bloom